1. Eat durians in Medan
Having arrived in Medan in the morning, we had some time to shop at Sun Plaza before satisfying our durian cravings in Si Bolang Durian under our driver's recommendation. Rather than a typical durian stall, the venue felt more like a restaurant, offering a clean and nice ambience for tourists seeking a comfortable durian experience. We got to watch the sellers open the spiky fruits in front of us and the plump flesh revealed turned out to be delicious.
2. Hike up Mount Sibayak
Our first night was spent in Hotel Sibayak Internasional (a 2.5hr drive from Medan), where we pre-arranged with a contact from the reception to bring us up Mount Sibayak early next morning for a sunrise hike. The total cost was Rp 750,000 for 5 pax, including transport from the hotel lobby at 4am, packed breakfast, all entrance fees and a guide to accompany us up.
Despite hiking in the dark with our head torches, it was pretty manageable walking on the even trails winding up through volcanic rocks. Our car had brought us right to the end of the paved road, which meant we only had 1-2 hours on foot before reaching the summit. We arrived on the ridge line just as the sun rose, watching the orange ball of light break the horizon and light up the vast landscape before us.
From the ridge there was still a couple of steep metres before reaching the highest point on the volcano and we decided to go for it, giving us a vantage point over Mt Sibayak's crater and Mt Sinabung in the backdrop. Happy with our summit view, we then scrambled back down and continued on to the car the same way we had ascended, marvelling at our surroundings that had slowly come alive under the sun's rays.
3. Explore Sipiso Piso
Still awestruck from the beauty of our sunrise hike, we proceeded to another breathtaking site - Sipiso Piso waterfall, a 1hr40min drive away. You could hike right to the bottom of the falls, but we decided to turn back upon arriving at the above lookout, approximately halfway down after walking for about 30min, as the skies started to rumble. Here at the lookout point was also a small cafe with a tin roof where you could have coffee with the plunge falls in full view.
4. Eat at a local warung
We got back to the start of our trail just before the sky gave way and started dumping. There are plenty of warungs - local family-run food stalls - at the start of the Sipiso Piso hike and we walked into one of them, sharing a sumptuous meal of Nasi Padang as it poured outside. Nasi Padang is an Indonesian meal where steamed rice is served with an assortment of dishes including meats, fish, vegetables and a generous dose of sambal. It is traditionally ordered from a clear glass display in front of the restaurant whereby rows of stacked bowls and plates are placed for customers to point at while ordering.
5. Take a ferry to Samosir Island
After exploring much of North Sumatra's mainland, we were finally going on a ferry ride through Lake Toba to Samosir Island. There are both car ferries and passenger ferries that depart hourly from Parapat to Tuk Tuk (Samosir's main tourist area where most accommodations are), but make sure you arrive well before the last ferry leaves at 6pm or you'd end up staying at Parapat.
Alternatively, you can also take a car ferry from Pelabuhan Tiga Ras instead to Simanindo Port Crossing like we did, before driving to Tuk Tuk upon arriving on Samosir Island. This was probably a more local way of transport, but we decided to take our driver's recommendation since it was along the way. For our return journey, we went on the passenger ferry instead, hopping on from the jetty right in front of our hotel and then meeting our driver at Parapat, who had left on the earlier car ferry.
6. Crash a local fish farm
Because the ferry departs hourly and we just missed the boat literally, we had plenty of time to explore the villages around Pelubuhan Tiga Ras, including the above fishing farm which the owner kindly invited us to - after spotting us snoop around - through his home leading to his backyard where we could tow ourselves on the makeshift tugboat and walk on the wooden planks surrounding his fish ponds. We had a good time laughing ourselves silly and it was sucha true show of Indonesian hospitality. At the end of it my dad wanted to pass the owner some tips for his generosity, but was flatly refused.
7. Watch (or participate in) a traditional Batak dance
To be very honest, I wouldn't recommend anyone to visit Samosir just for the Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo. But since we were already on the island, it was worth giving it a shot. The museum used to be the home of a Batak king and his 14 wives, and gave us a glimpse of what life was like for the Batak people. However there is not much on display on the museum grounds so it's best to time your visit with the daily Batak dance performances at 10.30am, which provided an additional source of entertainment for us. The dance itself was unspectacular, but voluntarily participation by the audience made it slightly more fun as we watched mom and dad follow their moves with bemusement.
8. Savour freshly caught freshwater crayfish
One good thing that came out of the museum visit was that we met someone on the way that told us about a place with fresh blue lobsters. After following his directions and driving past the same way twice we finally found a small side road that lead to a small crayfish form on the waters. Later on, I had to extract the GPS coordinates from the above's image exif file to pinpoint its exact location as I couldn't find it on the map (although it could be affiliated to the listed Ikan Mas Panggang Fanni due to its proximity).
This place was definitely a hidden gem as it wasn't really meant to be found by us consumers (as they sold their stock in bulk wholesale). We watched the fisherman row out to his enclosure to catch a whole box of crayfish (which probably was kinda like the minimum quantity) and brought our loot to a local restaurant.
9. Enjoy a cuppa kopi with breathtaking views
The Parhallow viewpoint and coffee shop is a great midday stop for food and coffee atop the hill overlooking the lake. It's also fully accessible by car!
10. Have a dip in the volcanic lake
With sucha gorgeous lake right on our doorstep at Mas Cottages it would be a sin not to take a dip. There are also kayaks available for hire for those who'd like to venture out on the lake further.
If you're keen to visit and need a contact for a driver or guide up Mt Sibayak, drop me a PM and I'll share ours (although our driver speaks limited English, so it's best you know a bit of Bahasa if you'd like to go with him).
Selamat jalan (safe travels)!